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23 Jun 2008 : Column 3W—continued
| New First Great Western | |
| Percentage | |
Railways: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains stop daily at (a) Preston, (b) Chorley, (c) Adlington, (d) Blackrod and (e) Horwich Parkway stations. [212674]
Mr. Tom Harris: This public timetable information is available in various hardcopy versions (such as the “UK Rail Timetable” published by The Stationery Office), or can be electronically downloaded from the Network Rail website (http://www.networkrail.co.uk/) as “Electronic National Rail Timetable” (eNRT). Current train service information is also available through the National Rail website
Railways: Voluntary Sector
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will visit the North York Moors Railway to meet the volunteers who man the operation to discuss the running of the railway. [212663]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Secretary of State for Transport has no immediate plans to visit the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on the effect on volunteers in community and other railways of recent rising fuel costs in enabling them to travel to railway stations; and if she will make a statement. [212664]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Secretary of State has not received any direct representations on this issue. Community Rail volunteers are typically members of the communities those railways serve. They therefore tend to live close to those railways, and often have low transport costs in getting to the relevant local rail stations.
Travel: Concessions
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to make the monetary value of a concessionary bus pass available to elderly people with mobility difficulties for use on other forms of transport; and if she will make a statement. [210032]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are no proposals to give residents eligible for concessionary travel the monetary value of a concessionary bus pass as an alternative to taking it up. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 preserves the flexibility of Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) to enhance their schemes locally at their own expense. At its discretion a TCA can choose to offer its residents travel vouchers or tokens for local use in taxis. The offer of any such enhancement and the monetary value of it is entirely a matter for the TCA as vouchers or tokens are not part of the statutory entitlement to concessionary travel.
Work and Pensions
Child Support Agency: Bolton
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when a Minister in his Department last visited the Child Support Agency offices in Bolton. [212024]
Mr. Plaskitt: There have been no visits by Ministers within the Department to Child Support Agency offices in Bolton. However, both I and my noble Friend Lord McKenzie of Luton made several visits to Child Support Agency offices in the last year.
Child Support Agency: Telephone Services
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has considered the merits of replacing the 0845 telephone number for the Child Support Agency with a local-rate telephone number. [212073]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 June 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has considered the merits of replacing the 0845 telephone number for the Child Support Agency with a local rate telephone number. [212073]
The Child Support Agency’s 0845 telephone numbers are charged at the rate of a local call from a landline telephone. Calls from mobile phones are charged at a rate determined by the service provider.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Children: Maintenance
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what level of income is protected with regard to the recovery of Child Support Agency arrears via a deduction from earnings order; and what other limits restrict the extent to which such arrears may be recovered. [210923]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 June 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what level of income is protected with regard to the recovery of Child Support Agency arrears via a deduction from earnings order; and what other limits restrict the extent to which such arrears may be recovered. [210923]
In new scheme cases the non-resident parent should be left with a minimum of 60% of net earnings after making child maintenance payments. This is set out in the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, Regulation 11(2).
The protected earnings rate on the old scheme may also enable deductions up to 40% of net earnings, though this may vary from case to case as the figure takes personal circumstances into account.
The Agency has set a ceiling for each deduction from earnings order which ensures that the maximum deduction does not exceed 40% of net earnings, leaving 60% of earnings protected.
The Agency will consider imposing the maximum deduction through a deduction from earnings order where child maintenance arrears are outstanding and the non-resident parent does not agree an acceptable repayment schedule. The Agency is committed to collect more money for more children and get tougher on non-resident parents who avoid their financial responsibilities.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what factors are taken into account by the Child Support Agency when calculating the repayment of arrears. [Official Report, 30 June 2008, Vol. 478, c. 6MC.] [212802]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 June 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what factors are taken into account by the Child Support Agency when calculating the repayment of arrears. [212802]
There are a number of factors to consider where child maintenance debt is outstanding and the non-resident parent is not able to offer full repayment immediately. Before deciding whether it is appropriate to collect arrears of child maintenance the Agency will consider the welfare of any child likely to be affected by an agreement. There is also a requirement for each parent to make adequate financial provision for their children which is a basic principle of the Child Support Act 1991. The actual negotiation process will establish the relevant facts, request further details where necessary and review representations made by the non-resident parent. The aim is to achieve the best possible agreement on behalf of all parties.
If the Agency cannot secure immediate repayment in full from the non-resident parent, it aims to reach agreements that will see arrears paid back within two years wherever possible. Before forming an opinion about accepting a repayment offer, the Agency will take into account the circumstances of the case and all other relevant considerations.
In some cases where an agreement cannot be reached which takes appropriate account of the welfare of the children affected, the non-resident parent's obligations and other relevant circumstances, it may be necessary to pursue recovery through legal enforcement methods. This is a key feature of the Operational Improvement Plan, launched in April 2006.
The Agency collected or arranged more than £1 billion in maintenance in the twelve months to March 2008, of which £126m was arrears. This is almost twice the £68 million of arrears collected in the year to March 2006 before the full introduction of the Operational Improvement Plan.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Housing Benefit: Foreigners
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of expenditure on (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit for non-UK nationals in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available; [208649]
(2) how many non-UK citizens received (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) EU nationals and (ii) non-EU nationals receiving such benefits; and what the 10 nationalities with the greatest number of claims were in the most recent year for which figures are available. [208655]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 June 2008]: The information is not available.
Social Security Benefits
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department’s forecasts are for (a) on-flow, (b) off-flow and (c) stock estimates for (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) income support, broken down by statistical group, and (iii) employment and support allowance for each of the next five years. [209940]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 10 June 2008]: The available information is in the following tables. The information is provided for the period up to the end of the Government’s spending plans, 2010-11, and does not take account of any future policy announcements.
| Incapacity benefits and employment support allowance: estimated number of claimants, flows onto and off benefit | ||||
| Thousand (estimated outturn) | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 thousand. Components may not sum due to rounding. 2. Figures relate to adults of working-age. 3. Severe disablement allowance closed to new claimants in April 2001. 4. Employment and support allowance (ESA) is introduced in October 2008 and replaces incapacity benefit for new claimants. Figures for 2008-09 for ESA therefore relate to six months only. 5. Figures for on-flows to incapacity benefit from 2008-09 onwards include estimates of claimants who are likely to have a break in their claim and will be allowed to receive incapacity benefit again under linking rules. 6. Figures are consistent with benefit expenditure tables available on the DWP website through the following link: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp | ||||
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